Journey to Lewis
by GypsyWagon
Summary: As the trio of mermaids come down to a duo again, Cleo is left feeling more lonesome than ever as Rikki and Zane get back together and Will pulls away from the group. But, as old friends come back and their journey leads them across the Pacific to America, Cleo and the whole gang realizes that it's not the journey that counts; it's the friends that you make with it.
1. Wake up call

**A/N: I've hopped aboard the Nate Train!(H2O fandom) I just whipped this up, and pray that it will hopefully blossom into a good story. This takes place after the third season, where I've arranged Bella to leave and Rikki and Zane get back together.(I couldn't help it; I love those two together, besides the point that Zane was a jerk to Rikki in the third season) This mainly involves the ships Cewis (obviously), Zikki, and mentions of Bella and Will, whatever they're called. Hope you enjoy!**

There was never a day in her life where Cleo felt alone.

Someone;anyone was always beside her, always. From her best friends, Emma, Rikki, and Bella, to her on and off boyfriend Lewis, to even annoying bratty Kim.

Point was, she was never alone.

Until now.

The feeling seeped in just a moment after Rikki had sent her a text, exictedly stating how after a long talk about their very(re: extremely) rocky relationship Rikkki and Zane had decided that they still liked each other after all, and they couldn't give up all of the adventures they had endured together to come to a close. They were on their make up date right now, something about an Italian restaurant and the best night of her life.

Cleo was excited for her, she really was. But there was still that pang of lonlieness and boredom. Bella was gone(her dad had gotten a new job in Melbourne, far from the Gold Coast), Will was mourning, acting like she had died or somthing, and Rikki and Zane were together. It seemed good, but the mermaid gang was not complete without him. Lewis. Their nerdy, scientist, big brain who would rather spend all day fantisizing about mermaid philosophy then catching a football.

Cleo rolled off her bed spread and sighed. She palmed her phone, debating to call Emma or maybe even Ryan, but decided against it. No, she wanted to actually talk to someone. For a crazy second, she considered Kim. But she knew how pathetic that would look. So, the mermaid reluctantly settled for Will, hoping to catch him at a time when he wasn't either working out or howling at the moon for Bella.

The phone rang a few times, and a weary voice finally answered. "Hello?"

"Will?"

"Oh, Cleo, uh, hi." There was some shuffling in the background, and the sound of shells clinked together before he responded. "What's up?"

Cleo scratched her head, thinking of the right words to say to their semi awkward diver. They didn't have a lot in common, not even a real solid friendship. Mostly he had established that with Bella when he dated her and Rikki when she saved his life. There wasn't really even a time she could recall when they spent quality time together, besides that dinner at her house. But Lewis had been there. Just thinking about him made her heart hurt and she quickly repsonded.

"Er... We haven't had a real time to chat, you know? Lately, with everything at Mako and with Rikki and Zane." Cleo paused a little at how lame her excuse sounded, but trudged on. "And maybe we could grab a juice or something?" She waited for a second, hearing nothing but Will's slight breathing. Finally, he sighed out.

"Sorry Cleo, I'm not really sure I'm ready for another girl after Bella left." Cleo opened her mouth and started to say that that wasn't what she was implying, but he cut her off. "Thanks anyway though. See you."

The mermaid groaned as the line went dead and flopped back on her bed again, putting her phone on her nightstand. Just then a familiar glint of silver caught her eye, and she moved her gaze back to it.

The locket.

Without even thinking, Cleo touched her blue moonstone necklace, feeling indignation rise within her. What was even the point? Bella was gone, Will wouldn't crawl out of his shell, and the moonstone fiasco was over. The lockets were meant for the original three mermaids. Cleo made a move to undo her necklace, when suddenly her phone did the usual ringtone. She grabbed it and flipped it open.

"Hello? Rikki? I thought you were on a date!"

"Cleo! I know, I was, before I got the call!"

"The call? What college did you get into?!"

"College? No way, think of something that's more important than schoolwork!"

"..."

"Emma!"

Cleo's heart leapt into her throat. "What about her?"

"She's coming home! Emma's coming home!"

Cleo felt as if the world started to spin. She didn't even know if she heard her friend right.

"Cleo? Did you hear me? Emma's coming back to Australia!"

Cleo squealed so loudly, every window in the house must've rattled. Rikki laughed jovially, happy that her friend was excited. And the mermaid was. Her eyes were shining with joy, and threatened to burst out as she sprinted down the stairs, yelling to her dad, "Emma's coming back!"

swung out of his office, grin as wide as a watermelon slice. "That's great news pumpkin! Your trio's back together again!"

Cleo stared at him, gleeful smile stretched across her tan face.

"Yeah, I guess we are!"

******* Page Break********

Rikki's was overflowing with thirsty teenagers, all drained by the hot summer sun. The bronze skins showed how long everyone was spending outside, from the rise of dawn to the low dipping moon at dark. Will, however, looked like a vampire. His tan skin was paler than usual, and there were bags under his eyes. Rikki and Zane were seated with him, sipping tropical colored juices through straws. They immediately spotted Cleo as she practically skipped in, smiles as wide as hers. Only Will remained serious.

"Cleo!"

"Rikki!"

The two hugged each other and Cleo greeted the two boys before settling down, crossing her hands in front of her. It seemed like milliseconds before they burst out at the same time. "Emma's coming!" Even Zane looked happy. Will rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm, glaring coolly at the top of the table. "So what? It's just a girl."

Rikki, Cleo, and Zane all exchanged glances before gazing at their friend. "Yeah." Rikki said slowly. "But she's our best friend, and a mermaid. She's been gone for a year."

Will stared hard at the surface before shrugging, playing with the beaded placemat. "I guess."

"You guess?" Zane's voice was sharp. He still hadn't quite forgiven the diver after all the drama that had happened between the three of them. "Emma's our friend, who hasn't been here for a year. The least you can do is make her feel welcome."

The next thing that came out of Will's mouth greatly suprised all of them. He glared at his friends. "I never asked to be her friend!"

The two girls widened their eyes in shock, swapping surprised glances at their friend's negativity. Zane looked like a shark about to bite a unprepared seal as he narrowed his eyes down at the built boy. For a second their was an awkward, tense silence; something that never happened to their group. But Will broke it as his shoulders slumped forward. "Sorry," he began dryly. "I just don't see why she's a bigger deal than Bella, that's all."

Rikki stared at him, not knowing where this attitude was coming from. "We never said she was. We're just excited to see her." "And if you don't like it you can leave." Zane added on, earning himself a warning glance from his girlfriend but nothing more. Cleo sat in the tension, waiting as the three stared each other down. Finally, Will scooted out from the table, sinking into his chair more but not getting up to exit. The group stared at him for a second to make sure before continuing.

"Okay, so full moon's in a day. She should be back late afternoon tomorrow, which'll give us enough prep time for it. Maybe a sleepover and movie variety?" Cleo nodded, and Will cut in. "I thought you already conquered the full moon trance. " Rikki rolled her shoulders, replying with a look at Cleo. "Yeah, well we sort of have a tradition with Emma about the full moon..." she sensed she shouldn't talk anymore and was corrected by the anger in his eyes.

"Oh. Another tradtion that no one did with Bella. Please, go on." Cleo touched Will's shoulder gently, taking it back as he recoiled away. "Will, we only knew Bella for a year. You have to understand where we're coming from." In an instant Will was on his feet, blue eyes blazing with a fire that was foreign to his eyes.

"No, I don't understand!"

The cafe was dead silent, only the sound of the mixer buzzing in the anxious air. Zane, Rikki, and Cleo were all standing up, eyes angry, frustrated, and concerned.

He continued on. "You act as if Bella was never here in the first place!" he bantered. "Well guess what, I _know_ she was here! And I won't walk out on her just because some other..." he paused for a second, controlling his anger for a split second. "_gir_l, comes back! Unlike you guys, I don't turn on my friends." He ended his rant and whipped away, stomping out of the cafe. The instant he was gone, it burst into chatter again. Rikki, Cleo, and Zane all stoodt there, cemented to the ground.

"Well." Zane started. "Now what will do now that Mr. Pessimist is gone?"

The mermaids looked indecisive, considering running after their friend even they know it would do no good. Rikki was the second to speak. "I don't know. Just keep Emma away from Will, I guess?" Cleo shrugged, not knowing what the best solution was either. With a sigh she struggled out, "Ugh, this would all be so much easier if Lewis was here!"

Rikki shot her a sympathetic glance, and Zane just stared at the ground. They didn't know what to say at the mention of their over seas friend. "Let's keep Will updated with everything. He may just be sad and mourning still, but he can always pick a time to start being cheerful. Maybe he'll get in the spirit after he meets her." Cleo suggested half heartedly afterward.

"He should already be on board with being cheerful. He's had plenty of time to mourn." Zane snapped.

Rikki nodded to her friend, looking like she wished she knew what to do. "I guess that's all we can do for now. In the meantime, I'm going to go make sure there's no more rock littering the merpool for her arrival. You want to come?" she asked her boyfriend and best friend. Zane nodded, already by her side, but Cleo shook her head dully. "No, it's fine. You two go ahead."

The lovebirds switched gazes, worried for their friend, but nodded their heads in farewell. "Okay, you know where we'll be."

Cleo nodded numbly, still thinking about her boyfriend. Then, the phrase that she had said moments before echoed in her head, making the mermaid turn it over in her mind.

_Everything would be so much easier if Lewis was here._


	2. Planners to the stars

Rikki leaned on her tiptoes, trying to peer around Zane and another tall boy in her way. Her boyfriend saw her trying to look and moved out of the way, creating a small window for her. "Thanks." she whispered. They were behind the tall netting near their office in the cafe, surrounded by a clump of pale, pool blue balloons. People were ducked behind chairs, excitedly whispering to each other about Emma's return.

"Do you think she'll be surprised?" Zane asked her, eyeing the teenagers waiting to welcome her back. Rikki considered it in her head. It was usually hard to surprise Emma, but there was no way she'd see a surprise party coming. Ash was supposed to be leading her here, and then they'd do the cliche 'Surprise!'.

"Probably." she replied, holding her breath and squishing herself against the netting as a shadow passed the bead work opening. Everybody tensed as Cleo hopped in, brown eyes wild with excitement.

"Cleo!" Rikki whisper shouted at her friend. The whole group groaned as they realized who it was, besides Nate who just catcalled. What part of we're-waiting-for-Emma didn't she get? 'C'mere!" she tugged her friend over to where they were, and felt annoyed as her fellow mermaid whispered in her ear. "Rikki I have a great idea-"

"That's great, but not now!" she hushed, trying to see between the mesh. Cleo snapped her mouth shut and practically danced in place, but kept silent. For several heartbeats the whole place was silent, and then finally Emma emerged through the beads with Ash optimistically at her side.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone leaped up, shouting. "Ohmigosh!" Emma yelped, practically stumbling back through the doorway. Everyone laughed and rushed to her, hugging her hard. Rikki and Cleo were the first to get to her.

"You guys!" They group hugged, squeezing each other like they would never let go._ This_, Rikki thought, _is what bliss feels like._ They finally untangled their arms from each other and Emma hugged other people, chattering like a dolphin the whole time. Rikki, Zane, and Cleo all smiled at each other, knowing they had nailed it. There was no other way Emma could've come home.

"Now, what was your idea?" Rikki asked Cleo, practically shouting above the noise. But her friend shook her head, already starting to sway from the beat of the music blasting overhead. "We'll talk about it later." Rikki dipped her head and danced with her two best friends and boyfriend, laughing and smiling so much that she wouldn't be surprised if she were never sad again.

Emma rolled up to them, beautiful smile gracing her features. "Thank you so much for this guys! I can't believe you managed to pull this off. I was expecting a free juice or something, but not this!"

Her friends smiled at her, exchanging glances. "You deserve it!" Rikki shouted, grinning as Emma's favorite pop song came on and Ash wheeled her away towards the very heart of the dance floor. Cleo giggled to Rikki, "I see he's happy to have her back!" Rikki grinned and mock shook her head. "No way, he's not happy at all." They laughed and continued to dance until the moon replaced the sunset gleaming on the water.

"Come on, I want to see Mako! It's been forever since I've been there." Emma was begging her friends, already casting glances out towards the rocky mountain that was jagged against the navy, star speckled sky. Her fellow mermaids reassured her they would as soon as the party was over, but she still anxiously kept her gaze glued to it._ It must've been hard_, Rikki thought. _The merpool is like, the one good thinking place for a mermaid. It must've been torture_. She still remembered the last day Emma went swimming with them, and the glazed tears in her eyes.

"So?" Rikki prompted Cleo. "What was this ground breaking idea?"

"Well," Cleo began, liquid brown eyes wild with excitement. "Emma's back and I think we need to get the whole team back together again." She took a deeeeeep breath and let it out loudly. Emma and Rikki swapped looks, not sure where this was going.

"I think... I think we should visit Lewis!"

Rikki's frost blue eyes widened to the size of mangoes. "What?!" Emma looked bemused. "We don't even have tickets!"

Her friend's laughter cut her off. "No, not tickets silly!" They looked confused for a split second before regret replaced it. "No, nooo way are you suggesting we swim across the Pacific Ocean!" Rikki almost yelled, but kept her voice down low enough. Disbelief swept across Emma's face, as if her best friend had gone crazy while she was away.

But Cleo just laughed again, grabbing her hands. "Yes! I do mean that! We've been working on our stamina, and-" a serious look replaced her playfulness. "I think we could really do it."

Rikki shook her head over and over, not believing that her friend was actually suggesting that. It was totally nuts. Emma, on the other hand, felt a little bit hopeful. Maybe it was just Ash's never ending optimism rubbing off on her..but she felt like they could actually do this.

"Well," Emma started cautiously. "It wouldn't hurt for a little swim."

Rikki whipped to stare at her friend, mouth dropping. "You can't be serious! The Pacific?! We'd be lucky if we lasted a day in there!"But the cheerful expression on Cleo's face made the hard demeanor melt a little. She almost looked as if she were moonstruck, and the thought that with how realistic Emma usually was meant that it actually might be possible...

"Fine. I'm in. But you do realize that this'll be really, really hard, right?" Emma gave a sharp nod. "Of course. But Cleo's right. We have to get the originals together again. And besides." she cast a soft glance at Cleo. "It would be good for us to see Lewis again. I haven't seen him for a year and I think we should change that. I've read about survival. We could plan out details for food later."

Rikki thought about it for a moment, before slowly starting to nod. "This might actually be not so much of a fish brained idea." Cleo took the joke and grinned. "Not that it'd matter. We're fish anyway." The three giggled and continued to catch up, barely waiting for the wonderful journey they were going to have ahead of them.

*****Page break*****

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Zane said, trying to keep a straight face into full out laughing. He had the feeling that Rikki wouldn't appreciate that very much. "You want me to buy a raft, fill it with food to last you for two weeks, so you can swim across the Pacific Ocean to go visit Lewis because you simply feel like it." Rikki thought for a second, before nodding dutifully. "Yep."

He tried so hard to keep his composure, but then he let it drop. He let the laughter ring out, and Rikki crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her sea blue eyes at him. "I can see why we broke up in the first place." she snapped, knowing it was a low blow but doing it anyway. It did the trick, and Zane shut his mouth quickly. He spun a pencil in his fingers, looking at her with a more considerable gaze after that.

"I mean, I suppose I could put together something. You do know how dangerous this might be though. I don't want you hurt." his light windswept blue eyes caused her heart to melt a little, but she still kept her demeanor crisp.

"Thanks, but we'll be fine. We'll have each other, and our powers. And besides, have we ever failed?" she gave him a small smile, and he returned one. Then, after a heartbeat, he shook his head and started typing on his computer. "Okay, okay. I'll get something whipped up." Rikki's grin took up her face and she rushed around the desk to throw her arms around her boyfriend. "Thank you!"

Zane laughed, hugging her back and giving her a peck on the cheek. "Knock them dead babe."

She exited the café and walked the short distance to the Marine Park, stifling a laugh as she saw Ash and Emma at the entrance.

"Ash, you aren't coming! I'm sorry, but this is something that the girls and I have to do." Emma had desperation creeping into her tone, and Rikki walked faster to go and stand by her. But Ash barely noticed she was there as he replied.

"But you just got back! I don't understand why you want to leave again." he protested, taking her hands in his. Emma sighed, pursing her pearly pink lips like she did when she was frustrated. "It's not that. I haven't seen Lewis in a long time, and-" she sighed, shooting an exasperated glance at Rikki. "You can't keep up with us swimming."

His brown eyes were agitated as well, but at last he sighed in defeat. "Alright." he said sullenly. "But if you think I'm going to let you plan this all by yourself, you're letting the water get to your head." Emma smiled at him and he smiled half heartedly back, nodding to Rikki as the three of them paid admission and walked inside. They traveled past the old pirate ship where Mr. Setori had played pirate and the dolphin show, until they reached the small tank where Ronnie was housed at. Cleo stood near the water's edge in her swim shirt, and smiled as her friends walked in. Her usually bright smile had an extra ounce of sparkle in it.

"Hey guys!" she chirped. "Ready to get started?" Her brown eyes zeroed in on Ash and she cocked her head, asking as politely as she could, "Er... what're you doing here?"

Ash stubbornly planted his cowboy boots on the deck, replying as he trained his gaze on her. "I'm here to help plan your journey. I already went without Emma for a year once- I'm going to savor every moment." Cleo nodded fiercely. "Oh, I understand. Stay as long as you want." Rikki and Emma exchanged glances; their fellow mermaid knew all about being away from someone she loved.

Cleo crouched down, reaching down to her leather brown bag that Rikki faintly recognized to be Max's, and pulling out a large weathered map. It had the world printed on it, with dozens of different hashes all over it. Rikki pointed at them, confused. "What're these?"

Her friend replied while the rest of them squatted down to look at the piece of paper. "Times when we'll have to take a break, refuel, go on land for a little while." A big mark in permanent marker had _FULL MOON_ scrawled above it. "The big mark's the full moon." Cleo said unnecessarily, taking out a ruler from her bag. Rikki eyed her friends, swallowing hard. "What do you think we should do about that?"

Ash switched his gaze from girl to girl. "I thought you already had that taken care of." Emma shook her head, running a hand through her long blond hair. "We do, but it's still risky. We shouldn't chance it." Rikki nodded, looking at her friend. "She's right. We'll have to go to a hotel or something." She snapped her fingers and joked, "Darn."

The three grinned at each other, before they realized that Cleo hadn't said anything. Rikki bumped her shoulder to her friends. "Cleo?" The mermaid stared down at the map, fingering her locket. Rikki looked at it for a split second, realizing that she had switched the moonstone necklace for it, before squaring her gaze to her friend's face. It was distraught.

"I don't know... Lewis will be anxious to see us." Emma, ever direct, exclaimed, "He doesn't even know we're coming!" The answer then hit Rikki; _Cleo_ was the one who was anxious to see Lewis. What did she think, that he was cheating on her or something? The way he had kissed at her after graduation said otherwise.

"Relax Cleo. We'll see him soon." she soothed, but the look on Cleo's face said she wasn't reassured.

"So is Zane going to provide the raft filled with the food, water, and money?" Emma asked Rikki, going back to the main topic. Rikki nodded a yes, feeling her throat close a little at the word money. "About the money..." she swallowed. "Do you guys... um... mind if..."

Her friends didn't even need her to finish her sentence. "Of course we can supply it." Emma nodded, hardy. You don't need to put a cent in." Cleo added. The mermaid leaned back on her heels, relief pumping through her. She really did have the best friends. "Thanks."

"Did you guys check for any shark grounds or bad weather? Hurricanes?" Ash asked, pointing to a spot near Hawaii. "I heard they have some bad conditions rolling in from my uncle who lives there." Rikki grinned sharply. "Like it matters. We can out swim any of those."

Ash looked dubious. "Hurricanes?"

Emma nudged him, knowing that her boyfriend still didn't know much about mermaids and all of their powers. "We can swim at lightning speed if we want to." she explained gently. "Faster than hurricanes."

Ash nodded after a second, and Cleo put her palms on her knees, tan face breaking out into a wide smile as she stood up. Her friends stood up with her, grinning at the happy expression that hadn't graced her face for a while. "Then we have everything?"

Emma nodded coolly. "Yep. We leave at dawn."

**A/N: That ended cliché, but oh well! Time for the part that puts 'adventure' in the genre. :D**


End file.
